


Hunted

by VentiKaffee



Category: World of Warcraft
Genre: Chasing, Death Threats, Human, Hunter - Freeform, Hunting, Mage, Predator/Prey, Punishment, Stranglethorn Vale, Thunderstorms, Torture, blood elf
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-18
Updated: 2016-05-18
Packaged: 2018-06-09 05:08:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6891448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VentiKaffee/pseuds/VentiKaffee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sintreri finds herself in a vicious game of cat and mouse after trying to steal from a hunter's camp.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hunted

An unnatural snarl sounded to her right, and she fled to the left, ducking a low branch. She knew the creature was herding her. To where, she didn’t know, but it wasn’t as if she could just turn and face it. In the tangled undergrowth of the jungle, the mageling blasted and blinked her way through brush and vine. A building storm denied her even the minuscule pockets of pale moonlight the dense canopy might’ve allowed. Her path was instead illuminated by the dim glow of magic from the end of her wand. She was at a clear disadvantage.

A flash of light above heralded the crack of thunder that sent a jolt of contained panic through the youth. She stumbled and cast the blink spell to make up for lost momentum, falling to the ground and pushing herself back up in a practiced motion. Lightning rent the sky again, revealing what might’ve been an opening ahead. If she could draw the hunter into the open, she might stand a chance. The expected screech of his pet did not come to alter her course, in fact her ears could not find any sound indicating it was still close. With nothing to deter her, she blinked again toward potential freedom.

The gaping maw of a whirlpool yawned up at her as she teetered precariously on the muddy edge. Only the kickback of a panicked arcane bolt saved her from a watery grave. She had assumed the growing roar to be a combination of wind and rain. Wincing at the stinging sensation of the faulty discharge, she spun about and sought another way out. An overgrown, but obvious path meandered to her right and marked a treacherous route around the death trap. Before she could turn to flee again, a muffled sound of impact announced the significant force that rocked her back onto her heels and made her fall forward to avoid plummeting.

The pain came sharp and delayed, arching from her left shoulder into her chest and tingling at her fingertips. A roll of earsplitting thunder was followed by the familiar kreen of the cursed beast that had been chasing her. This was no escape; this was a trap. She was exactly where he wanted her, mostly.

“Ah damn,” the figured that emerged grumbled in the wake of the storm’s fury. “You’ve got impressive agility and balance for a spindly li’l mage.” The harsh voice was unmistakably human.

Fierce green eyes locked onto the armored hunter as her head jerked up. A spell was already upon her lips, the last bit of the incantation hissed as she raised the hand of her good arm and launched a poorly aimed frostbolt. The man sidestepped in time and barked for his pet to pounce just as another flash of electric light and crashing sound split the night.

The mossy scaled ravager leaped into action with an excited shriek and scraping of pointed legs against soggy earth. Just as the words of another incantation began to take shape, pain arced from her left shoulder again and she felt herself yanked forward. By the time the pain and another deafening rumble of thunder had mostly subsided, the armored creature was atop her, hissing menacingly. One good arm shielding her head, she curled up under the chattering beast in reflexive defense.

Something wasn’t right. She had missed an important detail. Through the roaring wind and heavy cascade of rain, she tried to focus on the bolt in her shoulder and realized it was more than an ordinary projectile. The tip had sprung open, sharp tips digging through her reinforced cloth armor and into her skin. She lowered her arm slowly and studied the wound. The end of the shaft was connected to some sort of tough but thin cable. She could barely see it in the murky darkness. She didn’t need to trace its length to know what she’d find at the other end.

“With all this running away and trying to slow me and Kax down, I’d think you weren’t much one for trouble..” the man wound the cable into a loose coil in his hand as he approached, each purposeful tug inflicting more pain. “…but, you did try to steal my treasure. And that’s definitely troublesome.”

“I’m sorry.” the elf blurted. Too many years of getting caught and playing stubborn turning out worse than it was worth was enough to convince the usually defiant young woman to raise her white flag. Too bad it had yet to convince her to avoid conflict in the first place. “I don’t want it. Take whatever you want, jus-” A firm yank dragged her forward an inch in the cold mud, jarring pain snatching the unspoken words from her tongue.

“You speakin’ Common, bitch? I can’t hear you!” He dropped to one knee and grabbed a fistful of raven hair to yank her head closer. “What was that?”

“I-I’m sorry!” His captive cried, tears spilling from her eyes and mixing unnoticed with the rain.

A bolt of lightning struck a nearby tree, the immediate crash of thunder drowning out everything else. Her ears rang and head spun.

“Please forgive me! Please spare my life!” She continued as loud as she could manage once the sound had died into a low rumble.

The chittering beast above her stepped away with a sound of what one could describe as disappointment. It filled the mage with inexplicable relief. The release of her hair only furthered this feeling. It was quickly squashed beneath a heavy boot as he slammed his foot between her shoulder blades.

Her face planted into the ground before she could recover enough to turn her head and cough, desperately gasping for suddenly forfeited breath. She spat dirt and rainwater, blinking back another wave of dizziness. His gloved fingers now wriggled under the spindly hooks of the grappling shot and pulled until every prong came free. He continued to keep her pinned as he began methodically threading the cable through the wound.

The elf wailed in agony, unable to to do more than writhe under his weight as the muddy cable was pulled into and out of the open wound. Magic sparked at her fingertips, harmless without the concentration needed to shape it into weapons. The ring on the end, wider than the cable’s diameter, was forced through the smaller puncture. But even it only garnered a series of harsh twitches from the youth who appeared pushed to the end of her endurance by the time he was done.

The hunter removed his boot and gripped the mage’s tunic, easily pulling her onto her knees. She stared with half-lidded eyes and stuttered meek, broken pleas that even the rain washed away. He pulled his cowl back to reveal a rugged face with a full mustache and beard of black or dark brown, she couldn’t tell. His eyes looked sunken and beady in the darkness and the mist of the incessant downpour.

“Remember my face, elf. Remember my name: Brent Ogden.”

The mage nodded as best she could.

“I catch you trying to steal from me again and it won’t be life you’ll be begging for, a’ight?”

More shaky nodding.

Brent let her drop back into the mud and clicked his tongue. The restless ravager reluctantly followed as he left back the way they had come. A flash of lightning illuminated their rain blurred figures one last time before they disappeared into the thicket.


End file.
